S01 | EP 05 Alaska

Traveller Ian Wright begins his journey in the town of Eagle, on the banks of the Yukon River. Eagle is home to the Athabascan Indians who live a subsistence lifestyle, eating salmon in the summer and moose in the winter.

From Eagle, Ian travels to the town of Chicken (population 25) which has no running water, electricity or telephones and is completely isolated in the winter. He parties with the locals and goes on a tour in a 1946 light aircraft made of wood and fabric. While he’s in town, Ian also goes gold-dredging in the Fortymile River.

Ian continues his journey north, to the twin towns of Kennicott and McCarthy, situated in the Wrangell-St Elias National Park. Kennicott was once the richest source of copper in the world, but when copper prices collapsed in the 1930s, the 800 miners were made redundant and Kennicott became a ghost town. Just outside McCarthy, Ian goes glacier climbing on the Root Glacier.

Next, Ian heads for the coast. He travels up Prince William Sound on the state-run marine ferry and eventually arrives in the town of Seward. This is the departure point for a sea kayaking trip, and Ian encounters whales, dolphins and sea lions.

En route to Homer, Ian stops off on the Kenai River for a spot of fishing. He discovers he’s not a natural fisherman however, as he doesn’t manage to catch even one salmon. Arriving in Homer, Ian goes sky trekking in a Cessna 185. Lori, the pilot takes him out to remote lakes and mountains and they spend the afternoon watching grizzly bears and catching salmon in waterfalls.

The final leg of the journey takes Ian north, past Mt McKinley, the highest peak in North America, and up above the Arctic Circle to the land of the midnight sun.